


To Begin Again

by miraculousagentsofkrypton



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 1x07, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bus Kids - Freeform, Canon Compliant, Multi, Post Season 5, Team Bonding, The Hub - Freeform, Time Travel, but he's there at the start, but only because he has to be, grant ward is in this, idk how much mack is going to be in this, philindaisy, technically, up till season 6 comes out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 04:45:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15040997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousagentsofkrypton/pseuds/miraculousagentsofkrypton
Summary: Coulson looked at her confusedly. Coulson. Daisy’s eyes welled with tears, and she hugged him tightly. After a moment he patted her on the back awkwardly, reminding her of the confusing situation at hand. She had just been in the middle of a conversation with him. Yet she also remembered vividly the moment when May returned to them, brokenly relaying the news of his death. She remembered the devastation, and seeing the newfound determination in Jemma to find Fitz.“Skye, what’s going on? What caused that reaction? Coulson questioned, concerned.Daisy went to tell him she didn’t know, when a terrifying possibility stopped her in her tracks. She had never experienced it fully herself, but this situation was reminding her all too much of her entrance to the framework. At that thought, she stepped away from him, glancing around for the first time. Her Skye memories were telling her that she was in the Hub, a thought confirmed by the spacious, light filled, and busy area she found herself in.“Crap.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love time travel fics and seeing how characters would react to both the future, and their past. So I wrote a fic about it. I don't know where this is going but I hope you enjoy. (Note: Daisy's thoughts are not my thoughts.)

Daisy’s powers jolted under her control as soon as the spaceship came into view. Within it lie Fitz and Enoch, unaware to the changes wrought to the timeline. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, stomach twisting. All her emotions pushed and shoved against each other in her mind, as she sat silently in the periphery of the room. She was overwhelmingly conflicted. Excitement flooded her at the thought of seeing Fitz well and alive again, yet there was a twinge of fear, and that fear begat guilt. Desperately, she tried to push down the thought,  “ _What if he hurt her again?”_ She had struggled to overcome her newfound fear and lack of trust ever since “the incident”. Everyone else seemed to have moved on, pushing her to do the same. It was over and done. That Fitz was gone, and so everything she had experienced should just be washed away.

Despite everything, Daisy couldn’t find it within herself to not forgive him. He had been like her brother for so many years, one of her closest friends. She understood the feeling of hurting those she cared about because she thought it was just. The memory of HIVE still creeped in the back of her thoughts constantly, almost a year later, and the guilt overwhelmed her sometimes. The team had told her over and over that it wasn’t her fault, that she hadn’t been in control, but the doubt still lingered. She would have been happy to kill any one of them; she hurt Fitz and Mack with a smile on her face. Fitz had cemented that fear when he brought it back up by mentioning her betrayal of team. She had done so much worse than he had, but despite forgiving him eventually, she hadn't been able to forget. The nightmare still haunted her day and night. Except it wasn’t a nightmare, it had been reality. Her trust in him disappeared that day, and she hadn’t been able to bring it back.

Daisy watched everyone hustling to prepare to board. Her powers buzzed and pushed against her control as the intensity of her emotions skyrocketed. Jemma anxiously bustled around on the other side of the room, trying to be useful. She obsessively attempted to make sure everything was perfect. When it got to the point where she started berating Davis for his clothing choice, May stepped in and gently tugged her somewhere private, talking her down quietly.  

“You alright there Tremors?” a voice suddenly spoke. Daisy jumped, not having noticed Mack lean up against the wall beside her.

“I’m fine. I’m not the one having a nervous breakdown,” she replied jokingly, “You should be asking Jemma.” Daisy turned away from him, struggling to keep a lid on her powers once more. No one should be focused on her, not now; it was Jemma’s big day. Daisy wouldn’t let anything she did ruin it for her friend. That’s why she was staying out of everyone’s way.

“ _Jemma_ is not my partner. Just because Fitz is her husband, doesn’t mean that your feelings don’t matter.” Mack gave her a piercing stare for a few moments, before the corner of his lips twitched up, “Besides, May’s already got that mess covered.”

She couldn’t help her tart reply, “I’m not your partner anymore either, Director.”

“Daisy,” Mack said, nudging her shoulder with a comforting smile, “you’ll always be my partner.”

He sat, as a pillar of support, beside her as she thought about her response. She opened her mouth, and - Davis announced, “The connection was successful, we can now board safely.”

Standing up to head out, she felt almost relieved to have an excuse to remove herself from the conversation. She nodded her head towards the bay, “Come on, can’t keep Simmons waiting now can we.”

“Daisy-,” Mack implored.

She ignored his disappointment, and turned and walked away. There were no footsteps behind her, so she glanced back after a moment, shocked to see the exhaustion that filled his face. Guilt found its way as reigning champ over her warring emotions and her shoulders slumped, but she continued on her path despite it.

When she walked into the bay area, she found May walking stoically beside a somewhat calmer Jemma.  When May turned her eyes on her though, she saw the battle of emotions within her as well.

Daisy smiled somewhat hesitantly, “This is it.”

Jemma jittered, “Months of searching have all lead up to this. I’m finally going to see him again! You don’t think that something malfunctioned in the cryo chamber do you? What if he suffered hypoxia?!”

Daisy pulled Jemma into a hug, and told her softly, “You already know he didn’t. He arrived in the future the picture of health didn’t he? Plus you and Fitz have made it through everything the universe has thrown at you. You won’t let it stop you now.” She pulled away, squeezing Jemma’s shoulders reassuringly before letting go completely, “ Now stop worrying and go get your man!”

Jemma’s head went up, a smile playing on her lips. She nodded before continuing forward at a hurried pace, Daisy and May trailing behind her. Daisy glanced back once again, thoughts drawn to Mack. He would show up, but his delay said plenty. As the three of them made their way into and through the strangely large ship that only housed two people, they passed near a broken container. They didn’t think to much of it because there was plenty of clutter throughout, but when they got close enough to actually see into it, Daisy saw another monolith. “ _HOLY-_ ”

Before any of them could so much as react, it melted, its blue gunk encapsulated them instantly.

“... I was trying to find out what was happening with Ward and Fitz!” Skye stated exasperatedly.

“That’s a classified operation,” Coulson replied sternly.

Skye blinked. _Ward and Fitz?_ Her brain struggled to comprehend the situation, her thoughts jumbled. Right! She had been worried about Fitz being out on the field, and shocked there was no extraction. But… no wait. They had found Fitz. Daisy had just been reassuring Jemma about her husband. She was sure of it.  

“Skye?”

Coulson looked at her confusedly. _Coulson_. Daisy’s eyes welled with tears, and she hugged him tightly. After a moment he patted her on the back awkwardly, reminding her of the confusing situation at hand. She had just been in the middle of a conversation with him. Yet she also remembered vividly the moment when May returned to them, brokenly relaying the news of his death. She remembered the devastation, and seeing the newfound determination in Jemma to find Fitz.

“Skye, what’s going on? What caused that reaction? Coulson questioned, concerned.

Daisy went to tell him she didn’t know, when a terrifying possibility stopped her in her tracks. She had never experienced it fully herself, but this situation was reminding her all too much of her entrance to the framework. At that thought, she stepped away from him, glancing around for the first time. Her Skye memories were telling her that she was in the Hub, a thought confirmed by the spacious, light filled, and busy area she found herself in.

“Crap.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy, Jemma, and May deal with their new situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay in updating, I didn't really have a set plan for this originally. I didn't know how interested people would be, but hopefully I'll be able to be a bit quicker for the rest.

Shouts tore through the air, ”No! No. Nonononononono no! Curse _you_ universe!”

Simmons, no… Jemma, rounded the corner behind them, a ball of rage and frustration. She visibly started when she noticed them, eyes widening remarkably far at the sight of Coulson. Daisy shook herself out of the stupor that had fallen over her, striding over to Jemma.

“Je- Simmons! Please calm down, we can’t draw attention,” her eyes darted to Coulson, “because… the lack of extraction is classified remember?”

“You told her?” came his bemused question. He messaged his temple. “No, of course you did. What else would you do.”

She grasped at a way to escape the possibly fake Coulson. “Right.” Dragging Jemma away, she said, ”Well, Simmons here is obviously freaking out about it, so I’m going to go comfort her. Cool? Ok bye!”

Everything felt muted as she pulled Jemma along; numb. _That’s not important right now._ Pushing the feeling to the side, she turned towards her companion as soon as they walked out of sight, “Please tell me you’re actually my Jemma Simmons. Quick, what’s my name?”

“Daisy.”

Relief flooded her. “Phew, good. So we need to –“

“Daisy”

“- find May, and figure out what on earth happened. Or technically off earth I guess. And- ”

“Daisy.” Jemma just _broke_ at the last repetition of her name. “I lost him. I lost him _again.”_ She sagged to the ground, her eternal hope absent from her eyes.

_Oh._

Daisy quickly caught her, leaning Jemma against her to keep her upright. They needed to get somewhere private before Jemma completely melted down. If her mixed memories served, the Bus wasn’t too far away. She hurriedly led the apathetic woman to the Bus common area. Settling them both on the couch, she pulled her into a tight hug. Jemma buried her head into her shoulder and shook with sobs, her hands grasping Daisy’s shirt tightly. Daisy knew that no words could possibly help the woman right then. Her heart ached for her friend, and despite any hesitance she felt out in space, the disappointment and sorrow at their loss of Fitz, once again, overwhelmed her as well. It took little time before tears leaked out of her own eyes. They’d been through too much for it all to be ripped from their hands again, over and over.

_Please let this be the framework._

The framework brought plenty of trauma, but the alternative brought panic when she considered it. So she didn’t.

Taking in a ragged breath, she gently spoke up, “Jemma, we need to figure out what’s happened, and fix it. We need to find May, she’s here somewhere.”

“No need.”

The quiet voice shocked them both upright. Daisy’s heart pounded hard, she hadn’t even sensed her standing there. _Stop. Don’t think about it. That doesn’t matter._

“May!”

She sat down next to them, her voice despondent, “That monolith sent us to the past this time.”

Daisy wouldn’t believe that. “Wait, why are we in our younger avatars then? That’s not how traveling to the future worked.”

“Avatars?” Jemma interjected, her face paling, “You surely don’t believe this is the Framework do you?” She narrowed her eyes in thought. “That doesn’t make sense. Monoliths transport people through space and time, not into virtual worlds!”

“We don’t know that! We don’t know anything about them!”

“Jemma’s right, Daisy. This situation is nothing like the framework, and we destroyed it anyway. But that is something we have to consider. We don’t know the situation, and we can’t trust anyone yet.” May was the voice of reason to cut through all their chaotic thoughts. She paused, her posture tense. “I assume Coulson is alive here, wherever or whenever here is?”

Daisy’s heart fell to her feet. Here was her family, struggling with the loss of their other halves, and she had the audacity to be in denial about the situation because _she_ didn’t want to deal with it? She couldn’t bring herself to say it, so she just nodded. May took a shuddery breath.

Jemma was the first to break the suffocating silence “What’s our set course of action?”

“I guess, first thing is just figure out the situation, then we make a plan to fix it.”

The arrival of Coulson cut off further discussion. Jemma and May noticed the man far earlier than Daisy. It took their abrupt shift in attention before she looked over and saw him walking into the room. The numbness pulled for her attention, but she held it back once again.

He stopped and took in their wide eyed looks. May appeared as stoic as ever, but out of sight, her hand crushed Daisy’s fingers. The sudden grip startled her, but she quickly returned the pressure. _I’m right here. I know._

Glancing between them, he seemed to come to a conclusion, “Well, we better get a move on if we want to make it in time.”

“What?”

His face was soft and apologetic, and she got lost in the eyes of a father dearly missed, before it was shattered by his mischievous reply, “Ward and Fitz aren’t going to save themselves now are they.”

“Oh.”

That wasn’t the response he’d obviously been expecting, but Daisy didn’t care at the moment. There was so much to process and no time in which to do it. _Ward. Possibly the real one._ This was too much, and the idea of leaving behind the co-dependent support of May filled her with anguish, so she suggested they both go to the cockpit for takeoff. Jemma would need some time alone to process another version of Fitz. They weren’t even sure if he was the real one.  

Instead of replying to her suggestion, May got up and left, leaving Daisy to hurry and catch up. They couldn’t reveal their different relationship to Coulson yet. _Yet._ Daisy internally scoffed at the fact that she already assumed they would eventually tell him _. What version of Coulson isn’t trustworthy?_ The pain of bullets piercing her leg and shoulder flashed through her mind, causing her to stumble. _Right. That one._ Shaking off the memories was a well-practiced skill, and she swiftly righted herself.  

The silence in the cockpit was deafening, even the roaring of the airplane barely reached the edges of her senses. She heard it, but she couldn’t _feel it_. It was distant, just like everything else. She couldn’t handle it, so despite knowing May needed silence, she rambled, “This is crazy. We might be in the literal past. We could change things, make them better! … Or we could make them ten times worse, and get someone killed.”

May’s exhaustion was palpable, at least to Daisy, as she said, “We just need to focus on a way to fix this, not mess with time.” She clenched her fists, “It’s not him. We can’t think of him like he is.”

“Yeah. I know,” Daisy sighed, staring out the window absently, “I know."

 

* * *

 

They were coming up on the extraction point, so Daisy got up to go find Jemma. She’d need all the support she could get. She found her in Fitz’s bunk, her face in her hands.

Knocking softly, she asks, “Is it ok if I come in?”

She waits until Jemma minutely nods before sitting down next to her.

She almost startles Daisy when she murmurs, “He’s right there, I going to see him for the first time in months, and it’s not really going to be my husband. I don’t know whether to be elated or devastated. Daisy, I just miss him so much.”

“Neither was the Fitz out in space! He wouldn't have had memories of your marriage either, but he was still your Fitz. And I think, maybe this one will be too. Maybe you’re right, and we are in the past, then he’s just missing a few extra memories.” Daisy knew telling her the opposite of what May said probably wasn’t the best decision, but she didn’t know how else to comfort her. And it wasn’t like she was lying, they didn’t know which was true. Plus, Fitz wasn’t dead, not like Coulson. _Not like Coulson._

Instinctively, she tried to calm Jemma using what the team called her “purr”, but just felt the numbness expand within her. Tension grew alongside it, a need for a release that had suddenly become unavailable. Frantically attempting to find a replacement, she started humming. It came nowhere close to the full feeling, but it appeased just a little of her desperation. She found herself replicating the song her father hummed to her when they met, and gently rubbed Jemma’s back. The pressure helped her internalize the fact that Jemma was actually there, despite not sensing her.

The plane shifted directions, warning them of the imminent boarding. Standing up, she offered a hand to Jemma, “You ready?”

“No, but let’s go. The future awaits, literally.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this feels rushed, its sort of supposed to? They have very little time to work through all this before they pick up Ward and Fitz.


End file.
